Lingering concerns about the threat posed by its giant neighbor China took a backseat in Taiwan's closely watched local elections on Saturday as voters focused on other pressing issues closer to home such as air pollution and bad traffic.
Taiwanese were picking their mayors, city council members and other local leaders in all 13 counties and in nine cities. There's also a referendum to lower the voting age from 20 to 18.
During campaigning, there were few mentions of the large-scale military exercises targeting Taiwan that China held in August in reaction to U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit. At an elementary school in New Taipei City, the city that surrounds the capital Taipei, voters young and old came early despite the rain to cast their ballots.
Tsai, who also chairs the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, has spoken out many times about “opposing China and defending Taiwan” in the course of campaigning. But the DPP's candidate Chen Shih-chung, who was running for mayor in Taipei, only raised the issue of the Communist Party's threat a few times before he quickly switched back to local issues as there was little interest, experts said.
“If the DPP loses many county seats, then their ability to rule will face a very strong challenge,” said You Ying-lung, chair at the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation that regularly conducts public surveys on political issues.
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